Lesser Florican & other Birds of the Monsoon

After your arrival in Delhi in the morning we will head to Surajpur wetland on the outskirts of the city, a reliable site for the scarce breeding Bristled Grassbird, a bird that is incredibly secretive and difficult to see except for a couple of months when it performs its short song flights.

Leaving early this morning we first stop at Sultanpur National Park. This small wetland is another site for Bristled Grassbird, and provides great all-round birding at any time of year. Monsoon is the time for the spectacular displays of Indian Peafowl, and we should see several birds here, as well as Asian Openbill, Red-naped Ibis, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Indian Thick-knee and Pied Cuckoo. Then we continue on our way to Jaipur, arriving in time for an afternoon jeep safari in Jhalana Safari Park. This small park on the edge of the city is remarkable for its relatively large numbers of Leopards, and we have a good chance of seeing one on our drive.

We have the option of another game drive at Jhalana this morning before we leave, or alternatively some birding at Nahargarh Biological Park, an area of thorn forest which has good numbers of regular species with breeding Indian Pittas, Bay-backed Shrike, Black-headed Cuckooshrike and a chance of the scarce White-naped Tit. Leaving Jaipur we head southwest towards the prime areas for Lesser Florican, with some exploratory birding en-route.

The arable farmland of Sonkhaliya is the stronghold of the severely declining Lesser Florican. Seldom seen at other times of year because of their secretive nature, from July through to September they perform a remarkable jumping display. Our two full days in the area gives us a very good chance of finding them, as well as other monsoon specialities including Rain Quail, Rock Bush Quail, Painted Francolin, Indian Eagle Owl and Singing Bushlark. Autumn passage migration has started by now also and we may find Rosy Starlings, European Rollers, Sykes’s Warblers and even a Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin.

After some final birding at Sonkhaliya, we will drive to Bharatpur where we will spend the afternoon enjoying this world-famous reserve, which is excellent at any time of year.

Keoladeo National Park, better known as Bharatpur, became a World Heritage Site in 1985. One of the most outstanding wetland reserves in Asia, it attracts large numbers of wildfowl, herons, storks, cranes, waders, owls and raptors, after the monsoon has refilled the shallow ‘jheels’. At this time we are too early for the large numbers of wintering species, but monsoon breeding season will be in full swing, and we should find several different species of passage migrants, including flocks of beautiful Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters.

Even though we’re concentrating on the birds, a trip to this part of India would seem incomplete without a visit to one of the most iconic manmade structures in the world, the Taj Mahal, which we shall do on our route back through Delhi, where the tour ends with a transfer to the airport for late evening or early morning flights home. If your flight is later the following day, we can provide suitable accommodation.